How to Buy a Pizza Business
Buying a restaurant can be a great way to avoid the difficulties of starting a new business from scratch. The pizza business is also a well-established kind of restaurant, as everyone knows what a pizza is. To buy an existing pizza restaurant, you should take into account a number of things to ensure your venture is a success.
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Instructions
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Find a restaurant to buy. You can either search out a pizza restaurant to make an offer to buy or find existing ones for sale. Websites with listings of restaurants for sale include Restaurants-For-Sale.com, BizBuySell.com, and BusinessMart.com. If you prefer to find one you like and make an offer, you should consider a number of things such as location, target demographic, menu, and local competition.
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Consider a pizza franchise. If you are seeking the safety of an established name, consider purchasing a franchise restaurant. You can check with the major restaurant chains to see if there are currently any of their businesses for sale or simply buy one to start in a new location. Pizza franchises include Little Caesars, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Round Table Pizza, Cici's Pizza, and Russo's New York Pizzeria. The advantages of buying a franchise is that there is name recognition, built-in advertising, corporate support, and an existing supply chain. Check with each pizza company to see the amount of their franchise fees and the annual required costs.
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Make sure the pizza tastes good. No matter what the business model is, the taste of the pizza is ultimately what is going to drive your business. You should buy a number of pizzas from any restaurant you are considering buying and get feedback from friends and strangers. Think about the sauce, the cheese, and the crust.
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Check the books. If you have decided on an existing pizza restaurant to buy, the most important thing is to examine their accounting records to determine the real expenses, revenue, profit, and debt. Have an accountant take a look, as well, so you have an accurate range of expected revenue. Entrepreneur.com details how to determine the selling price of a business. Also consider if the current owner would be taking any current customers with him, such as businesses he has an established relationship with, local groups, and any personal following. Take into account the state of the economy and any expectations of lower or higher revenue.
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Get an attorney to close the deal. You should hire a lawyer experienced with selling businesses to go through the ins-and-outs of the transaction. An attorney should consider such things as a non-compete clause, ownership of recipes, full disclosure of the accounting methods, and any legal proceedings against the restaurant.
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